Westlake High School launches new business incubator course

A new business incubator startup course has begun with the 2016-17 school year at Eanes ISD’s Westlake High School, and 145 students are being taught by prominent venture capitalists.

The brainchild of EISD Superintendent Tom Leonard, the business incubator course, Entrepreneurship & Enterprise, allows juniors and seniors to learn business and marketing concepts, form a business idea and pitch the business to a panel of judges in the hopes their product will be sponsored.

Leonard said he brought the concept from Barrington High School in the suburbs of Chicago, where he previously was superintendent.

At the beginning of the school year, he said students in the course must come up with business ideas, form a business group, hear from local business owners on their successes and failures, and learn from experts. Students will learn about marketing, accounting, human resources, customer segmentation, pricing and web development, Leonard said.

Business experts and venture capitalists participating in the incubator course include Austin Ventures, Silverton Partners, Austin Technology Incubator, Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, LiveOak Venture Partners and StarVista.

At the end of the first semester, students will conduct a presentation to secure funding to test their product or idea, Leonard said.

In the second semester, students will further develop their business idea, he said. They will also be paired with a business mentor, who is assigned to one team and will follow the students’ progress throughout the year, offering feedback and encouragement, Leonard said.

He said in May, students will pitch their ideas to a panel of investors, and their idea could be funded if the investors like the product.

“This is a course that I have seen change kids’ lives,” Leonard said in a video introducing the project to WHS students.